Nerve Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

A dangerous game of “truth or dare”, minus the truth, surfaces on the Internet. Would you join in to play or simply sit back & watch others perform dangerous stunts?

Genre: Mystery / Sci-Fi / Thriller

Director: Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman

Cast: Emma Roberts, Dave Franco, Emily Meade, Miles Heizer, Kimiko Glenn, Machine Gun Kelly, Juliette Lewis, Samira Wiley & Brian Marc.

Run Time: 96 min.

US Release: 27 July 2016

UK Release: 11 August 2016

German Release: 08 September 2016

Picking up on more movie reviews to publish, my newest post will be an analysis of Henry Joost and Ariel Schuman’s science-fiction thriller. Nerve sets up a world that mirrors our modern everyday life, examining our dependence on communication technology, just like the different Internet communities, especially the art of trolling. By doing so, it tries to send a moral message to the viewer but fails to communicate it because of the third act’s weak delivery plus the unsatisfying ending. Nevertheless, it did manage to entertain me throughout its full length, leaving me semi-satisfied. 

Venus “Vee” Delmonico (Roberts) is a good high school senior, though somewhat of a wallflower. She dreams of going away to the California Institute of Arts but is afraid of telling her mom (Lewis), who is extremely overprotective of her. Vee’s best friend Sydney (Meade) is a popular high school cheerleader, inviting her to an internet gaming community called Nerve. Nerve is separated into two factions: “Watchers”, people who pay to watch the players, and “Players”, people who are given dares to do in exchange for money.

Sydney is slowly becoming more prominent as a “Player” on Nerve, teasing Vee about not having the guts to play until she humiliates her in front of her high school crush, J.P. (Marc). Vee decides to play herself, against the advice of her friend Tommy (Heizer), soon meeting fellow player Ian (Franco). When things start becoming too dangerous, Vee decides to quit Nerve, but the “Watchers” won’t let her go.

Jessica Sharzer, the screenplay writer, did a decent job of adapting the novel into a script, while the directors manage to implement it into a fast-paced, adrenaline-rushed picture. Nerve tries to market itself as a modern mix of mystery and science fiction by repackaging a teenage drama as an action story, yet it still follows the typical plot lines of the previously mentioned genre, thus not offering anything new. That doesn’t mean the film is boring or hasn’t got creative merits because I did like how the narrative unfolded, which alone had a high entertaining value! I am just saying that at its core this was a clichéd high school drama trying too hard to be something more. 

My biggest issue with this sci-fi thriller is the fact that none of the characters in it are interesting. There are attempts at creating compelling backstories; however, they never work out. It is the chemistry between Emma Roberts plus Dave Franco, playing Vee and Ian respectively, which saves the movie. It is enjoyable to follow these two teenies through their adrenaline-filled night. 

Emma Roberts is not only extremely attractive, but she simply has fun being in this film, thus giving an easy rendition of her character. The same goes for Dave Franco, who impersonates the persona of bad-boy Ian. It is clearly visible that he just enjoyed the time he shared with Roberts on screen, which is what makes both of their roles so likeable!

Emily Meade and Miles Heizer, on the other hand, are very irritating plus dull, with their characters feeling overused. Meade portrays Vee’s best friend Sydney, a selfish as well as insecure cheerleader, who tries to use Nerve as a means to get easy online fame. Heizer plays Tommy, a guy who is secretly in love with Vee, masquerading as her best male friend, with the writers trying to give him an interesting personality by turning him into a hacker.

What I like most about Nerve, though, is its cinematography. This film looks gorgeous, making use of bright, strong neon colours and lights in nearly every scene to manifest the modern era it plays in. I also appreciate Michael Simmonds’ approach to a different cinematographic technique by telling the story from phones or computer devices with cameras, even if that style was more distracting than aiding at times.

Rob Simonsen composed the soundtrack. I love how the electronic music pulsates through the story since it perfectly fits the genre! The soundtrack gets a little bit too dominating at times, but it suits this kind of movie.

---

Verdict: In the end, Nerve is a fun, fast-paced but expendable mystery- thriller with an alright script. While the plot is highly entertaining, it does expect viewers to turn off their brains occasionally, as it tries to be more than what it is: an action-induced high school drama. The message about the dangers of online anonymity that this movie tries to communicate fails because the story does not have a closure with real consequences for those who ran the gaming site. While it has two very good leads with fantastic chemistry, the rest of the characters are boring, irritating and clichéd. The truly impressive part of this film is the cinematography and the music, which are both beautiful to enjoy. I will give Nerve a 6.5 out of 10. I recommend it for a one-time watch.

Leave a comment below and let me know what you thought of Nerve and if you know similar but better-produced movies. Thank you, as always, for reading my review & if you liked it, please share it with friends or family! Also, don’t forget to leave a like!